Fleet Plays Integral Role in Disaster Response

11/20/2018

Incident Commanders responding to the California wildfires were grateful when mechanic Dave Lumia arrived on the scene.

When we think of disaster response, one of the first things that comes to mind are our paramedics and EMTs. But what if you jumped in a rig to respond and it didn’t start?

Keeping rigs in tip-top shape and ready to go is the job of our skilled Fleet team. And when disaster strikes, these dedicated crews are an integral part of our response teams.

Earlier this month, as the Butte and Ventura County, California fires began to spread, our fleet crews were busy getting our trucks prepped and ready for response.

When the call for assistance went out, one of our mechanics, Dave Lumia, immediately went to Chico, which was our staging area for the strike team, to work on vehicles from not only AMR but other ambulance providers as well. For four days, Dave worked tirelessly around-the-clock to prepare the vehicles for rapid response.

“It was quite a showing when Dave pulled into Chico with his AMR truck and went right to work, so much so that one of the incident commanders gave him two medallions as a thank you,” explained Randy Harrell, Fleet Regional Manager.

When we respond to wildfires, hurricanes or mass casualty events, everyone comes together - from administrative support to logistics to fleet to first responders— to provide exceptional response to the communities who need us the most.